MIAMI, Florida – The Dominican Republic and Nicaragua are among the teams headlining the start of the 2022 Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship Qualifiers, which begin on Friday, November 5 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
The CMU20Q will consist of 19 teams split into three groups of five and one group of four, with all matches set to conclude on November 14. The winner of each group will advance directly to the Round of 16 of the 2022 CMU20, scheduled to be played next summer.
Group A will see Curacao, Grenada, Dominica, Sint Maarten and British Virgin Islands take the field. Curacao will be seeking to qualify for the CMU20 for the 14th time in their history, while advancing would mark a fifth CMU20 berth for Grenada. Dominica and Sint Maarten made their debuts in the 2018 CMU20, while British Virgin Islands have yet to reach the tournament.
Host nation Dominican Republic will welcome Saint Lucia, Belize, Saint Martin and Anguilla into Group B with their sights set on a sixth CMU20. The Dominican Republic qualified for the 2020 edition, however, it was not played due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, Belize are in pursuit of a third CMU20, Saint Lucia and Saint Martin will be seeking a second appearance and Anguilla will be aiming for a first ever CMU20 qualification.
An interesting Group C is on the cards with Bermuda, Puerto Rico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados and Montserrat all fancying a CMU20 berth. Like the Dominican Republic, Barbados had qualified for the 2020 edition but were unable to compete, but the dream of an eighth CMU20 will certainly be at the forefront.
Puerto Rico have their sights set on a ninth appearance, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines a second time in the tournament, Bermuda out for a 14th CMU20 and Montserrat hoping to make their CMU20 debut.
Rounding out the groups are Nicaragua, Guyana, Cayman Islands and U.S. Virgin Islands in Group D. Nicaragua as well qualified for the 2020 edition, and in total have nine CMU20s played under their belts. Guyana should provide a stiff test, considering the two teams met two years ago in CMU20Q with the Pinoleros winning 1-0.
Guyana have three CMU20s to their name, while Cayman Islands and USVI each have one previous CMU20 appearance.
Following the conclusion of the Qualifiers, a total of 20 teams will participate at the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship in the summer of 2022. This will include the top four teams from the Qualifiers and the region’s top 16 ranked teams (based on the Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Rankings) who receive a bye to the Championship.
The Championships group stage will be played between the top 16 ranked teams (four groups of four). The top three teams in each will advance to the Round of 16, joining the top four teams from the Qualifiers. All Knockout stage matches will be played in a single match direct elimination format.
At the conclusion of the event, the finalists (two teams) will qualify for the FIFA Men’s U-20 World Cup Indonesia 2023 and the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. The two losing semifinalists (two teams) will also guarantee their participation in the FIFA Men’s U-20 World Cup Indonesia 2023.
